Dead Man's Switch vs SafeGuard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dead Man's Switch
This app ensures your safety by automatically notifying chosen contacts if you miss a scheduled check-in. It offers flexible check-in intervals and customizable messages for emergencies.
- Scheduled check-ins
- Automated contact alerts
- Customizable emergency messages
- Multiple check-in methods (app, widget, Siri, Apple Watch)
- Grace period before alerts
- Away mode for travel
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Free to use: email alerts, reminders, widgets, Apple Watch, the daily deadline and up to 3 people. Dead Man's Switch checks that you're OK. Choose how often you'll check in, anywhere from once a day to once a year. Miss your deadline and your phone reminds you. Still no check-in after the grace window, and the people you chose get an email with the message you wrote. It's for anyone who lives alone, hikes or travels solo, has a health condition, or wants the people who care about them to know if something is wrong. CHECK IN WITH ONE TAP • From the app, a widget, a notification, Siri, Control Center or the Action Button • Or automatically: a Shortcuts automation can check you in when you stop your morning alarm • Or press and hold the app icon and tap Check in • On Apple Watch: see the time left on your watch face and check in from your wrist • On your Lock Screen: in the last 8 hours, the time left and a Check in button that works without unlocking • A live countdown shows exactly how long you have, down to the second • Every check-in is confirmed by our server, so what you see is what will happen • Every day by a set time: pick a time, say 9 PM, and that's your deadline every day. Checking in early doesn't move it KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, AND WHEN • See when your contacts would be emailed, and who • Reminders every day and before your deadline • Still no check-in an hour before anyone is told? Your phone can ring like an alarm clock, even on silent (iOS 26) • Settings > Reminders lists what your phone will do next: each reminder in order, then when your people are told • A grace window before anyone is emailed • Send a test email so your contacts know what to expect • If you check in after an alert went out, your contacts get an "all clear" email • Each alert email has a button your people tap to say they're checking on you, and the app shows who did YOUR MESSAGE, YOUR PEOPLE • Write one message for everyone, or a personal one for each person • One tap adds what they'd need: your address, where the spare key is, who relies on you, health notes, who to call • Your contacts don't need the app. They just get an email • When you add someone, they get one short heads-up email from us, so a real alert is never a surprise (you can switch it off) • A typo in someone's address (like gmial.com) is caught when you add them • The people you add are kept on our server only to send your alerts, never shared or sold, and deleted when you turn the switch off. The app asks before anything is sent TEXT ALERTS (US AND CANADA) • Your contacts can get a text as well as the email, once they say yes with one tap • Texts come in small packs. Emails are always free AWAY MODE • Going somewhere without signal? Pick the day you're back, and nobody is emailed before then PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account to create • No location tracking DEAD MAN'S SWITCH PRO (OPTIONAL) • Safety timer: a hike, a run, a first date? Set 1 to 23 hours and where you're going. Not back in time? Your people get your message with that note on top. Start it in the app, with Siri or from the app icon • Up to 10 people instead of 3 • App icons: Pulse, Green, Moon or Daylight on your Home Screen instead of the candle • Yearly $9.99 with the first week free, monthly $1.99, or lifetime $19.99 once • Bought the app before it was free? Pro is included • Subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Available in English, Spanish, German, Polish, French, Italian, Dutch, Japanese and Korean. Dead Man's Switch is not an emergency service and does not contact emergency services. If you are in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number.
SafeGuard
This app acts as a digital safety net, ensuring your important messages are delivered to loved ones if you are unable to check in. Set custom check-in intervals and a secret distress password for silent alerts with your location.
- Set legacy messages for loved ones
- Customizable check-in intervals
- Silent distress SOS with GPS location
- Sender verification for email authenticity
- Photo and voice message attachments (Premium)
- Import contacts from phone (Premium)
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SafeGuard ensures your important messages reach loved ones when you can't deliver them yourself. SET UP LEGACY MESSAGES Write heartfelt messages to family, friends, or colleagues. If you don't check in before your deadline, SafeGuard automatically delivers them via email. DEAD MAN'S SWITCH Choose your check-in interval — from minutes to months. Simply open the app to reset your timer. Miss a check-in, and your messages are sent. SILENT DISTRESS SOS Enter a secret distress password to silently alert emergency contacts with your GPS location. The app opens normally — no one can tell you triggered an SOS. SENDER VERIFICATION Add your name and a secret code to emails so recipients know the message is genuinely from you. FREE FEATURES • 1 contact & 1 message • 3-day check-in timer • 30-character SOS message • GPS location sharing PREMIUM FEATURES • Up to 20 contacts & 20 messages • All timer intervals (5 min to 30 days) • Auto-renewing timer • 500-character SOS message • Photo & voice attachments • Import contacts from phone • Custom app icon • Send SOS to all distress contacts Your privacy matters. Messages are encrypted and only sent when your timer expires. SafeGuard — Because some messages are too important to leave unsent. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ https://snrgwa-bot.github.io/Safeguard_Pro/terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SafeGuard at 5.0 against Dead Man's Switch's 4.5. Dead Man's Switch's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Dead Man's Switch sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and SafeGuard sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SafeGuard holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
Dead Man's Switch ships an update every 4 days, SafeGuard monthly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Dead Man's Switch | SafeGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aaron Jin | DUMITRU BUMBU |
Customer experience
Dead Man's Switch
SafeGuard
In-app purchases
Dead Man's Switch
- Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
- Pro Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- 5 Texts$0.99
- 15 Texts$1.99
- 40 Texts$3.99
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- Pro Lifetime$19.99
SafeGuard
- SafeGuard Weekly$2.997 Days
- SafeGuard Monthly$6.991 Month
- SafeGuard Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Questions
Is Dead Man's Switch free?
Is SafeGuard free?
Which has better reviews, Dead Man's Switch or SafeGuard?
Do Dead Man's Switch or SafeGuard have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dead Man's Switch or SafeGuard?
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